Water softener valve

ABSTRACT

A water softener control valve has a number of cam operated valves each of which includes a ball located at a port. A lever is associated with each ball and lever movement by the cams unseats the balls to open the ports. The ports are located in a common, generally horizontal wall and internal generally vertical walls associated with the ports define channeling through which water is directed in achieving the service, backwash, brine slow rinse, and fast rinse cycles of the water softener, and in addition the brine tank water refill after the mineral bed of the water softener has been regenerated. Water pressure urges the balls toward their respective ports and holds the balls seated in the ports. One port is exposed, during the regeneration portion of the water softener program, to both return flow from the mineral tank on one side of the port and service flow to the service outlet on the other side. That port has a ball on both sides of the port to insure closure of the port and isolation of the flow on both sides of the port.

[ Feb. 26, 1974 ABSTRACT A water softener control valve has a number ofcam operated valves each of which includes a ball located at a port. Alever is associated with each ball and lever movement by the camsunseats the balls to open the ports. The ports are located in a common,generally sociated with' the ports define channeling through 8 Claims,11 Drawing Figures horizontal wall and internal generally vertical wallsaswhich Water is directed in achieving the service, backwash, brine slowrinse, and fast rinse cycles of the C02b 1/22 water softener, and inaddition the brine tank water H [581 Field ofSearch............................137/5991, refill after the mineral bed ofthe water softener has w l37/624.l8, 624.2, 624.13, 624.17, 627, beenregenerated. Water pressure urges the balls 330; 210/139, 140 towardtheir respective ports and holds the balls seated in the ports. One portis exposed, during the regeneration portion of the water softenerprogram, to both return flow from the mineral tank on one side of theport and service flow to the service outlet on the 137/449 X other side.That port has a ball on both sides of the 137/5991 port to insureclosure of the port and isolation of the 137mm 2 flow on both sides ofthe port 137/6241 X WATER SOFTENER VALVE Chester R. Nickels, Sycamore,lll. I Assignee: Aqua-Chem, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.

Nov. 8, 1971 Appl. No.: 196,621

.. 137/330, 137/624.l8, l37/599.l

137/DIG. 2, 449,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1953Hjulian........................... l/l95lBadeaux.......................... 10/1899Lunken..........................

[75] lnventors: John F. Horvath, Milwaukee, Wis;

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fred Wiviatt; 'Ralph G. Hohenfeldt; John C.Cooper, Ill

Umted States Patent 1191 Horvath et al.

[22] Filed:

Primary Examiner-Alan Cohan w I I PATENTEDFEBZEIHH 3.794.061

sum 2 or a Oz; M

WATER SOFTENER VALVE BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates to'water Softener valves and, more particularly, to the control valvearrangement by means of which the various water softener cycles areachieved.

Conventional water softeners are generally programmed to operateautomatically through the well known cycles of service, backwash, brineslow rinse, fast rinse, and brine tank water refill. This programmedoperation is achieved by means of acontrol valve which directs the flowof source water to the mineral tank and brine tank, soft or hard waterto the service outlet, and unwanted water (during backwash and rinses)to drain. Numerous control valves have been proposed in the past, theconstruction of such valves have varied but the function has remainedgenerally the same, namely to achieve the above mentioned cycles.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION This invention is directed to the problem ofproviding the water softener cycles and, among its general objects, isto provide a simplified and effective control valve by means of whichsuch cycles. can be achieved.

For the achievement of ,that and other objects, this invention proposesa construction wherein a ballis associated with each of a number of thevalve-ports in the valve. The balls normally close the ports to flow andare displaced from their respective ports in a programmed fashion. Theports are preferably located in a generally common wall with wallsprojecting from both sides of the common wall in preselected orientationto define channels associated with the ports through which flow occurs.The halls are selectively unseated to open the ports to influence flowthrough the valve, and to and from the brine and mineraltanks, toproduce the various opertional cycles. The control valve also has suitable connections between its interior channeling and a water source, aservice connection, the brine and mineral tanks, and a drain.

The ball arrangement affords a simplified and yet highly effectivevalving arrangement. The balls are generally free in the area of theirrespective ports and the seating surface of each ball in its port willbe continuously changing throughout valve operation thereby insuringpositive and effective seal-off over extended periods of service whichincreases reliability and reduces maintenance attention. Preferably, theballs being free at their respective ports, are urged into seatingrelationship in their respective ports only by water pressure; thisallows the balls to rotate while disengaged from their seats therebychanging the valve seating surface from one operation to another. Morespecifically, the channeling within the valve is such that balls exposedto water flow are generally exposed from above relative to theirrespective ports so that they are urged into engagement in theirrespective ports by water, and the balls are preferably heavier thanwater to enhance this inherent biasing effect. Where a port is exposedto water flow on both sides two balls can be provided to insure portclosure; for example, in the preferred em bodiment during operation oneport is exposed on its underside to flow to service while its uppersideis exof the discs moves the levers away from the balls when the portsare to be closed.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in or be apparent fromthe specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of theembodiments shown in the drawings, in which:

- FIG. 1 is a perspective of a control valve embodying this inventionwith parts broken away to illustrate the interior of the valve and beingsomewhat in schematic form so as to better illustrate the operation ofthe overall valve;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the main portion of the controlvalve with operational parts removed for ease of illustration;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 2

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section 'view taken generally along line 5-5 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section view taken generally along line 6+6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a section view taken 7-7 in FIG. 3;

FIG. '8 is a section view taken generally along line 8-8 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a section view taken generally along line 99 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a section view taken generally along line 1010 of FIG. 6 andwith operational parts removed; and

FIG. 11 is a partial view of a part of the bottom section of the valveillustrating the openings through which connection is made to themineral tank.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A water softener valve 10 isillustrated in the drawings and includes a valve body 12, a rotatablecam bank 14, a brine flow check valve 16 (FIG. 5), and suitableconnections (not shown) to the brine tank and the mineral tank whichcontains the conventional ion exchange material such as zeolite. Themineral tank and the brine tank can be any conventional construction andneither is necessary to an understanding of this invention and hencethey have not been illustrated and will not be described; this is alsotrue of the brine flow check valve and it will not be described indetail. It should also be appreciated at the outset of this descriptionthat, in addition to the just mentioned tanks, much of the systemelements and connections are also conventional, e.g., the connections tothe mineral and brine tanks, and hence, although they may be referred toin a general manner therein, they too will not be described in detail astheir construction and operation should be readily understood by thoseskilled in this art.

Valve body 12 is basically a three piece member including a main section18, a top wall 20, and a bottom wall 22. The body pieces are made of asuitable plastic material, for example a plastic presently availablecommerically as Arcylafil 640-35 provides satisfactory regenerally alongline sults. The pieces 18, 20, and 22 are connected by a suitablebonding adhesive and a tongue-in-groove type connection to provide'aleak proof seal for the interior of the valve body. FIG. 1 is somewhatof a general showing of the valve eliminating some details ofconstructions which have, however, been illustrated in other Figs.

In general terms, main section 18 includes an inlet port 24 in sidewall64 for entry of hard water; an outlet port 26 also in sidewall 64 forexit of soft water for system usage; an opening 28 opening in bottomwall 22 (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4 and in section in FIG. 11)through which hard water is directed to the mineral tank for treatment;an opening 30 in central wall 58 and generally aligned with an opening31 through bottom wall 22 through which soft water returns to the valve;port 32 in sidewall 66 through which brine is drawn from the brine tankto be channeled through the valve to the mineral tank and through whichreplacement water is directed to the brine tank; and an outlet 34 insidewall 64 connected to drain for discharge of water during, forexample, the fast and slow rinse cycles for the mineral bed. Hub 36,extending laterally from sidewall 66, is adapted to receive a flowregulator valve 38, commonly referred to as a dole valve and whichmaintains a constant volume flow rate to drain outlet 34. Hub 40, inwhich port 32 is formed, includes a check valve assembly 42 positionedin bore 44. Port 32 communicates through the check valve and opening 46in wall 58 with passage P and this channeling is used in directing brinefrom the brine tank to the mineral bed for regeneration as will bedescribed hereinafter. Hub 40 includes a second bore 48 which carries avalve 50 (in FIG. the assemblies in the bores have been removed forpurposes of illustration). Bore 48 communicates with bore 44 through across passage 52 which enters the bore 44 behind ball 54 of the checkvalve assembly 42. This channeling is utilized to direct water to thebrine tank for refilling the brine tank after the mineral bedregeneration cycle. There is sufficient clearance between the valvemember 50 and the inner walls of bore 48 to permit flow to passage 52.

Wall 58 of main valve section 18 is disposed in a generally centrallocation in the valve and extends between end walls 60, 62, and sidewalls 64, 66, the central, end and side walls being molded in one piece.The central wall carries the control valve ports, numbered 1 through 8in the drawings, through which flow is directed as a result of selectiveopening of the ports by operation of the cam tank. Vertical walls arealso provided and project on both sides of wall 58 and function todefine flow channels associated with the ports for directing water in amanner which will become evident as this description proceeds, the wallswill be numbered as required in the description.

Wall 58 also includes holes 68 and 70 which communicate with each othervia channeling and port 1 and hole 72 which is operationally betweenports 6 and 8 and in the flow channeling to the brine tank.

Ejector assembly 74 (FIGS. 7 and 8) is mounted in bore 76 andcommunicates with passage 78. Passage 78 has open communication withpassage P, which communicates through opening 46, check valve assembly42 and brine check valve 16 with the brine tank. Ejector 64 is operativeto create a vacuum through the passages just described, i.e., P, and 46,causing ball 54 to be removed from its seat and brine to be drawn fromthe brine tank. To produce the vacuum, the ejector is exposed to themain water flow through inlet 24 via opening 80 in wall 58, port 5, hole82 in the sidewall 84 communicating with passage P below port 5, channel86, channel 88 and down through ejector 74 into passage P whichcommunicates with opening 28 in bottom wall 22 to tank. A venturi effectis created by this flow through the ejector in area 78 which creates thevacuum condition described above causing brine to be drawn from thebrine tank and mixed with the water being directed into the tank throughthe ejector.

Ports 1-8 are normally closed and are selectively opened for flow toachieve the conventional cycles of service, backwash, brine slow rinse,and fast rinse during which the brine tank is also refilled. Inaccordance with this invention, the closure of ports I7 is achieved byballs A-G one of which is associated with each of the ports asillustrated in FIG. 1. Each of the balls AG is made of a materialheavier than water so that they do not float, for example glass. Port 8is closed by the combination of metal ball H, disc 144, and lever 134, apositive seal off is achieved at this port where even a small amount ofleakage cannot be tolerated. Each of the ports l-7, which cooperate witha glass ball, is provided with a removable seat member 92 of suitablematerial which is positioned in a respective port and provides a seatfor receiving a respective ball A-G. The seats 92 fit into each port andhave an O-ring 93 associated therewith to insure a sea]. It will benoted that seat 92a at port 3 is a double seat to cooperate with bothballs C and I. Being removable the seats can be removed and replacedduring service as desired.

Disc 144 is made of rubber, or the like, and seats directly on the endof extension 95 which forms port 8 and is held in place by ball H andlever 134. Balls A-G are all located above wall 58 as viewed in FIGS. 1and 2 and, as will appear when the operational cycles are explained, thepassages and channeling influencing flow direct all flow such that flowto a port when it is to be open and pass flow is from above wall 58.This produces flow over the balls tending to seat the balls in theirrespective ports. Thus water pressure urges the balls into the ports andthey must be positively displaced to open the ports and when releasedare returned to engagement in their ports under the influence of thewater. A second ball I is associated with port 3 and is located on theunderside of wall 58. During a portion of the overall softener programport 3 is exposed to flow on both sides and the purpose of ball I is toinsure closure of port 3. This flow above and below port 3 occurs duringthe backwash, brine, and rinse cycles. Ball I is generally made of amaterial which will float (e.g., polypropylene) so that it will normallytry to assume a position seated in and closing port 3. However, whenflow occurs down through port 3 it is readily displaced. Ball H holdsdisc 144 on port 8 and when the ball is released by lever 134 theinherent water pressure under the disc raises the disc to open the port.

The use of balls to control opening and closing of the ports provides avery simple and yet markedly reliable valve arrangement. Positiveseal-off is insured, and without the need for precise location of thevalve closure member with respect to the port. Furthermore, the balls atports l-7 are generally free once released from the port and can rotatevirtually without restriction so that seal-off does not occur throughrepeated engagement between the port and the same surface on the valveclosure member. This minimizes problems due to wear and decreases theneed for maintenance attention while increasing valve reliability.

lt should be noted at this point that having provided a common wall 58for the valve ports, and that wall being generally horizontal in use,contributes in permitting the use of the simple valve closurearrangement provided by the balls. Although port 8 is elevated above thelevel of ports 17 this can still be considered for practical purpose, aspart of the common wall as the elevation of the upper part of the port 8is merely to facilitate actuation.

As stated above balls A-G normally tend to assume a position secured intheir respective ports and a relatively simple arrangement is proposedfor unseating the balls to open their respective ports. Being unable tofloat and disposed over the upperside of wall 58, which is normallyhorizontal, and with influenced flow being over the balls, the ballsarebiased into engagement in their respective ports without the use ofsprings. Although springs can be used, the free movement of the ballswhen released from the ports is preferred.

More specifically, the arrangement for unseating the balls includes anumber of levers 96 extending through top section for engagement withballs A-G. Levers 96 are rigid members of a suitable metal, such asbrass, and are held captive in resilient discs 100 seated in a plate 102overlying top section 20. Levers 96 are vulcanized to the discsproviding a sealed connection, discs 100 are in turn seated in openings106. The levers extend through clearance openings 110 in top section 20.Discs 100 are made of resilient material, e.g., rubber, and the inherentbias of these discs cause levers 96 to assume a generally uprightposition, spaced from, i.e., not in contact with, their respective ballsA-G. The resilient discs oppose movement of the levers in a port openingdirection and return the levers to the upright position after theopening force is removed. To properly orient the levers relative to theballs, a notch and projection arrangement is provided between discs 100and openings 106 locating the discs and thereby orienting the levers.

Movement of the levers to engage and unseat the balls is achieved bycams 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 124, and 126 as can be seen inFIG. 1. Cams 112-126 are provided withsuitable cam lobes to engage andmove the levers and all are mounted on a shaft 128 which is driven by atimer (not shown) programmed to cycle the cams to achieve the necessarywater softener cycles. As the shaft 128 is rotated, cams 112-126selectively operate their respective levers 96, and 134, to pivot thelevers into engagement with and move the balls against water pressure tounseat the balls as required to achieve the various water softeneroperations. ln the case of lever 134, ball H is moved to free disc 144.

At this point the construction of cam 126 and its operative connectionto lever 134 should be noted. As illustrated, cams 112-124 carry lobesand the rise portion of the cams are used to operate their respectivelevers to displace balls A-G. In contrast, cam 126 is adapted to operateits lever 134 on a fall portion of the cam and hence a lever arrangementhas been provided to accommodate this reversal of this operation.Moreover, cam 126 is intended to control the brine tank refill cycleand, therefore, is made adjustable to provide the prescribed amount ofwater to recharge the brine tank after the brine cycle. Morespecifically, cam 126 includes a first cam disc 126a and a second camdisc 126b. Cam disc 126a is fixed to shaft 128 whereas disc 126b can berotated relative to the shaft whereby the cam fall opening can be set ata maximum where faces 130 and 132 of disc 126a are both exposed but canbe reduced by exposing face 135 and moving that face toward face 132.

Lever 134 is supported on a pin 136 for pivotal movement. Lever 134includes a projection 142 which rides on the rise portion of cam 126 andholds lever 134 such that ball H urges disc 144 into engagement withport 8. When projection 142 falls into the opening defined betweensurfaces 130 and 132 or 135 and 132, spring ball H is released and thewater pressure under disc 144 lifts the disc to open port 8.

It will also be noted that cover plate serves to hold resilient discs100 and 104 in their respective openings, this cover plate and outerhousing 146 were removed in FIG. 1. Cover plate 140 is attached tomember 102 and member 102 to top section 20 by a suitable adhesive.

Screw 137 is threaded into lever 134 and makes the actual engagementwith ball H to thereby provide a measure of adjustment in the force withwhich the disc closes port 8.

With this structural description of the overall valve in mind, a generaldescription of the operationof the valve through the various watersoftener cycles in a complete water softener program will now be made.Starting with the service cycle and assuming that the zeolite bed isproperly conditioned for softening and that the brine tank is properlycharged with water and salt, cams 116 and 124 will have moved balls Cand G to open ports 3 and 7. During the service cycle only ports 3 and 7are open and all other ports are closed.

Hard water enters inlet 24 and inlet 24 opens into passage P, which isisolated from the underside of wall 58 by wall 81. Inlet water must thenflow up through opening 80 on both sides of wall 83 into passages P andP This exposes ports 4, 5, 6, and 7 to inlet flow at all times. Port 7being the only one that is open, water flows down through port 7 topassage P from which it is directed to and through opening 28 to thezeolite bed in the mineral tank. Soft water returns from the mineraltank through opening 31 into passage P up through opening 30 intopassage P and down through open port 3 (the water flowing through port 3will unseat ball 1), into passage P and out service outlet 26 to providesoft water as required.

The service cycle will continue until the point is reached wherein thezeolite bed requires regeneration. The first step in regeneration is abackwash cycle which produces a reversed flow through the zeolite bed toloosen the bed. At this point the levers associated with balls C and Gare moved from engagement with those balls allowing the balls to seat inand close ports 3 and 7. Cams 112, 110, and 122 engage their operatinglevers to displace balls A, D, and F and open ports 1, 4, and 6, allother ports remain closed. With this arrangement, hard water enteringinlet 24 again flows through opening 80 but, in this instance, itproceeds to port 6 and down into passage P which communicates withopening 31, ports 2 and 3 also having open communication with Passage Pthrough opening 30 being closed, flow proceeds directly to the bottom ofthe mineral tank so that the hard water is directed from the bottom ofthe tank up through the zeolite bed to loosen the bed. This waterreturns to the valve through opening 28, into passage P Port 1 beingopen return flow is now directed through vertical wall opening 67,passage Pg, valve 38, and up through opening 68. The water flowsupwardly through opening 68 then proceeds down through open port 1 intopassage P and up again through opening 70 to be discharged throughoutlet 34 to drain.

Port 4 is also open during the backwash cycle and this port has directcommunication with hard water entering inlet 24 through opening 80. Thehard water passes from opening 80 through passage P and port 4 which hasopen communication with the underside of port 3 through channel 4a sothat hard water can flow directly to and through service outlet 26 tomeet water demands during the backwash cycle. It will be understood thatport 4 remains open throughout the regeneration cycle to provide hardwater service at this time. In accordance with conventional practice,the regeneration cycle takes place during the early morning hours sothat the lack of soft water is not critical and hard water is sufficientto satisfy the demands at that time. Moreover, it will be noted thatball I will be urged toward its seat in port 3 to insure closure of thatport during the backwash cycle.

After the backwash cycle, the actual regeneration starts as the brineslow rinse cycle takes place. During this cycle, ports 2 and 5 are open,cams 114 and 120 having engaged and pivoted levers 96 to displace ballsB and E, that is in addition to port 4 being open to maintain hard waterservice. All other ports are closed during this cycle. It is necessaryto draw the brine from the brine tank. To accomplish this, hard waterentering inlet 24 is directed to ports 4 and 5 through passage P Hardwater flows down through port 5, through wall opening 82 an up throughpassage 86 to area 88 from which it is directed down through ejectorassembly 74. The hard water passes through the ejector assembly directlyinto passage P and out opening 28 to the mineral tank. In passingthrough ejector 74, a vacuum is created in area 78, creating a vacuumthrough passage P,, opening 46, and in the area of check valve 42. Apressure drop occurs across ball 54 of the check valve unseating theball and causing brine to be drawn from the brine tank through the brinecheck valve and port 32. The brine is mixed with the water beingdischarged into the mineral tank and flows down through the zeolite bed.This will continue until the brine solution has been completely drawnfrom the brine tank at which time the conventional brine tank flow checkvalve will operate to interrupt communication between the valve,specifically port 32, and the interior of the brine tank. The brinecirculates through the zeolite bed and returns to the valve through theopening 31. From passage P return flow proceeds through opening 30 topassage P down through port 2 to passage P (which is isolated frompassage P, by wall 87 Port 2 communicates with opening 70 so that thebrine solution flows up through opening 70 to and through drain outlet34.

After completion of the brine slow rinse cycle, a fast rinse cycle isprovided. This fast rinse cycle is achieved by cam 114 remaining inengagement with its lever 96 to hold ball B away from port 2 and cam 124engages its lever 96 to displace ball G from port 7 so that ports 2 and7 are open, together with port 4 which maintains hard water service.With this arrangement hard water enters inlet 24, a portion thereofflowing to service through port 4 and another portion flowing throughport 7 and from port 7 through passage P and opening 28 to and throughthe zeolite bed. It will be noted at this point that port 7 is largerthan port 5 so that a greater quantity of water is being directedthrough the bed during fast .rinse as compared to slow rinse. Hard waterpasses down through the bed and returns as soft water through opening 31to passage P and through opening and passage P to open port 2, whichhaving open communication with hole 70, allows the rinse water toproceed directly through outlet 34 to drain. Upon the completion of thefast rinse cycle, the valve operates to establish a service setting andservice of soft water is resumed as described previously and until asubsequent regeneration cycle is called for.

One other operational cycle is to be described and that is the brinerefill cycle. During the fast rinse cycle when ports 2 and 7 are open,cam 126 has also been rotated to allow lever 134 to pivot and ball H tobe displaced by disc 144 and open port 8. Water entering inlet 24 passesfrom opening 80 through port 7 and to passage P to be directed to thezeolite bed in the mineral tank as described above. During the fastrinse cycle, cam 122 will have engaged and operated its lever 96 todisplace ball F from port 6. Port 6 being open, hard water is permittedto flow from inlet 24 and opening 80 down through port 6 to passage P onthe underside of opening 72 which has open communication with port 6.This water flows up through opening 72 and down through open port 8 intopassage P and to valve in bore 48. From valve 50 this water proceedsthrough passage 52 to the check valve assembly 42, entering the checkvalve assembly behind ball 54 so that the water can be directed into thebrine tank. Ball 54 is held closed in that it is exposed on its rightside to inlet pressure. From the check valve water flows to the brinetank. Adjustable cam 126 will determine the length of time that port 8remains open and when the amount of water necessary to fill the brinetank has been supplied, ball H will be moved toward and will reseat disc144 in port 8 closing that port and interrupting the refill cycle. Itwill also be noted that port 6 is at times exposed on its underside toreturn flow from the mineral tank but the upperside of port 6 is at alltimes exposed to inlet pressure in passage P which will be greater, andhence is held closed.

Although but several embodiments of this invention have been illustratedand described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious other modifications may be made without departing from thespirit of this invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A water softener valve comprising, in combination,

means defining a housing, means defining an inlet opening into theinterior of said housing for admitting source water into said housing,means defining a service outlet opening into the interior of saidhousing for delivering water for service,

means defming tank openings in said housing adapted to be connected to amineral tank and a brine tank,

means defining a first wall within said housing,

a plurality of valve ports in said first wall, a generally sphericalvalve member associated with each of said ports, means defining aplurality of walls projecting laterally 3. The water softener valve ofclaim 2 wherein said balls are made of non-resilient material,

and including annular seat members releasably mounted in each of saidports and engageable by on both sides of said first wall in associationwith 5 said balls in closing said ports. said ports to define flowpassages within said hous- 4. The water softener valve of claim 2 ingcommunicating with said ports and arranged wherein one of said ballscooperates with a resilient relative to said ports and'said inlet;outlet, and tank disc to open and close said resilient disc on the portopenings to direct water through said valve and through which brine tankrefill occurs, through said ports from the spherical valve mem- 0 andincluding cam means operatively engaging said her side thereof so thatwater flow through said one of said balls and being adjustable to varythe valve urges said spherical valve members into enlength of time saidbrine tank refill port is open. gagement with said ports, 5. The watersoftener valve of claim 1 wherein lever means movable into selectiveengagement with said spherical valve members are all positioned on saidspherical valve members for selectively disthe same side of said firstwall placing said spherical valve members from their reand said levermeans are normally spaced from said spective ports and at an anglerelative to the axis of balls when released from said means for movingsaid ports to thereby modify the orientation of said said lever means.spherical valve members to said ports whereby 6. The water softenervalve of claim 5 upon movement of said lever means out ofengageincluding means defining a drain outlet in said housment with saidspherical valve members a different ing, seating surface thereof will bereturned to said seat wherein said flow passages provide a path to saidserby the flow of said water, vice outlet past one of said ports and apath to said means for moving said lever means to displace said drainpast said same port,

spherical valve members from their respective and including a sphericalvalve member positioned ports, on a first side of said one port oppositeto the side a plurality of resilient members supported on said uponwhich said first mentioned spherical valve housing, members are located.and wherein said lever means'extend through said re- 7. The watersoftener valve of claim 6 wherein said silient members and saidresilient members are spherical valve members are balls and the ball onsaid stressed when said lever means are moved to displace said sphericalvalve members and the inherfirst side of said one port is lighter thanwater and the balls on the opposite side of said ports are heavier thanwater.

ent bias thereof as a result of said stressing movement of said leversreleases said spherical valve members for return to their respectiveports when said lever means are released from said means for moving saidlever means.

2. The water softener valve of claim 1 wherein said spherical valvemembers are in the form of balls heavier than water and all balls arepositioned on the same side of said first wall.

by said balls in closing said other ports.

1. A water softener valve comprising, in combination, means defining ahousing, means defining an inlet opening into the interior of saidhousing for admitting source water into said housing, means defining aservice outlet opening into the interior of said housing for deliveringwater for service, means defining tank openings in said housing adaptedto be connected to a mineral tank and a brine tank, means defining afirst wall within said housing, a plurality of valve ports in said firstwall, a generally spherical valve member associated with each of saidports, means defining a plurality of walls projecting laterally on bothsides of said first wall in association with said ports to define flowpassages within said housing communicating with said ports and arrangedrelative to said ports and said inlet, outlet, and tank openings todirect water through said valve and through said ports from thespherical valve member side thereof so that water flow through saidvalve urges said spherical valve members into engagement with saidports, lever means movable into selective engagement with said sphericalvalve members for selectively displacing said spherical valve membersfrom their respective ports and at an angle relative to the axis of saidports to thereby modify the orientation of said spherical valve membersto said ports whereby upon movement of said lever means out ofengagement with said spherical valve members a different seating surfacethereof will be returned to said seat by the flow of said water, meansfor moving said lever means to displace said spherical valve membersfrom their respective ports, a plurality of resilient members supportedon said housing, and wherein said lever means extend through saidresilient members and said resilient members are stressed when saidlever means are moved to displace said spherical valve members and theinherent bias thereof as a result of said stressing movement of saidlevers releases said spherical valve members for return to theirrespective ports when said lever means are released from said means formoving said lever means.
 2. The water softener valve of claim 1 whereinsaid spherical valve members are in the form of balls heavier than waterand all balls are positioned on the same side of said first wall.
 3. Thewater softener valve of claim 2 wherein said balls are made ofnon-resilient material, and including annular seat members releasablymounted in each of said ports and engageable by said balls in closingsaid ports.
 4. The water softener valve of claim 2 wherein one of saidballs cooperates with a resilient disc to open and close said resilientdisc on the port through which brine tank refill occurs, and includingcam means operatively engaging said one of said balls and beingadjustable to vary the length of time said brine tank refill port isopen.
 5. The water softener valve of claim 1 wherein said sphericalvalve members are all positioned on the same side of said first wall andsaid lever means are normally spaced from said balls when released fromsaid means for moving said lever means.
 6. The water softener valve ofclaim 5 including means defining a drain outlet in said housing, whereinsaid flow passages provide a path to said service outlet past one ofsaid ports and a path to said drain past said same port, and including aspherical valve member positioned on a first side of said one portopposite to the side upon which said first mentioned spherical valvemembers are located.
 7. The water softener valve of claim 6 wherein saidspherical valve members are balls and the ball on said first side ofsaid one port is lighter than water and the balls on the opposite sideof said ports are heavier than water.
 8. The water softener valve ofclaim 7 wherein one of said balls cooperates with a resilient disc whichseats directly on the walls of its respective port, and includingannular seat members releasably mounted in each of said other ports andengageable by said balls in closing said other ports.